Storm before the Calm
Brimming Clouds Year of 1578, five days after the clash between Cain D. Abel and Raven D. Sora. In their pursuit of the former Warlord, the Cheeky Pirates had come across the island of Pinhata, one famous for its many festivals and abundance of people, surely, many criminals went there to blend in and go unnoticed by the World Government. Newcomers found themselves in awe of the many fireworks that littered the sky, this was but another day for the residents. However, it was known that this time of the year, there were less breaks between the many fests. Many wondered how its economy could keep going, despite all of these happening one after another. It truly meant that the income of tourists was far bigger than in many other islands. Pinhata's government was neither affiliated or against the World Government, like a few locations, it stood on neutral territory. For that very reason, people both allied and against the Government came to this place in order to sell just like the festival's vendors. Information. The perfect place to discover more about Sora. "Welcome, welcome!" A man with short, spiky hair spoke at the docked Cheeky Pirates, rubbing his hands while smiling, his hair blew with a small current of wind. He stood on the wooden docks and had been looking at the Laughing Turtle. "I take it y'all are new to these docks, aren'tcha?" He placed one of his hands on his chest and bowed. "My name is Rabenu, just one amongst thousands of guides! How can I help you?" Mauricio Kerrim hadn't even a moment to absorb the sun before his attention was taken by Rabenu. It hadn't even taken Red Feather a second to gather his faux smile. He walked down the ramp that had been laid out from the ship, stepping down to meet the man on an equal level. Kerrim gave a brief bow, placing his right hand over his heart as he did so. "A pleasure, Rabenu. We've only come to observe the festivities this year. I've heard all about it, and lets just say I couldn't pull myself away from Pinhata this time." Kerrim allowed his voice to sound joyous, in fact, it had been akin to the tone of excitement and youth he held during his time sailing with Ishana. Of course, the Super Rookie standing before him possessed a bounty of 240,000,000, not anything too different for Pinhata. "Oooooh, pirates taking a vacation, mister?" Rabenu rubbed his hands together again in a smile. "I apologize on sounding like I am to pry, ishahaha!" Gesturing with a turn of his head, he spoke, "I could guide you to one of our best hotels, if you so wish! Anyone else in your company?" Raising from his bow, the sun showered across Kerrim’s figure, causing his inherently red eyes to glisten and flare in hue as it basked in the sunlight. “Ah yes, I’ve gathered a majority of my crew to join me in this wondrous vacation. Even we need a bit of a time away from the seas, especially with the Yonko’s and their presence. It’s like the Xros are everywhere sometimes, can’t quite enjoy life without running into one. Ushishi!” Kerrim seemed to enjoy the moment, letting an ever so rare laugh slip through. "Good, good, few captains think of their crew nowadays," Rabenu looked downwards for a second, as he trailed the path they would walk. "Follow me, sir?" Kerrim gave a brief nod, looking back at Fang who stood on the deck of the ship, as he always engaged in sunbathing or gardening when he had the chance. Only the meeting of their eyes communicated everything that needed to be said. "Of course." Kerrim allowed Rabenu to lead the way, resting his left arm on his scabbard. The Gerongian nodded to his captain, tightening his scarf as he headed below deck, the only part of his face visible was his eyes. It hid the more serious expression he wore in comparison to his captain. "Good," Rabenu then gestured with both his hand and head towards a stone path. "The place I work for is called the Mei Zhing Rhes." He walked down that path, hands rubbing themselves, the world around them continue to brim with life and fireworks, people sold stuff, people bought stuff. One might even mistake the island to never sleep, with so much going around. Rabenu decided to continue with his comments. "It's not too pricey," He glanced back for a second, waving at them, "Just a minute or two to get there, it's got a large neon name!" Kerrim followed behind, looking around at the scenery, but keeping his focus slightly on Rabenu, his eyes trained to react to the slightest movement. "Does that help it stand out? An island like this I'm sure has quite a number of neon lights about." "You'd see why, Mr." Rabenu smiled, surely, the sheer small talk being enough to cut short the time they spent walking towards the hotel. In fact, if they had paid attention before walking up to it, they would have seen the incredibly big name out at the sky, it flew above the tower that was the building even. The Mei Zhing Rhes seemed to have twenty stores, a dark texture overall, and yellow windows. There were several of those even, illuminating the outsides with so much inner light. "That's it there!" Rabenu pointed upwards. "When you in, just say it was courtesy of Rabenu, they pay me some," He shrugged with another laugh, "Ishahaha. I'll be leaving!" Kerrim looked at the building, analyzing it intently as he watched. He'd known Rabenu's true nature, but the intentions behind why he'd brought him here had only lingered on his mind. "Tell me, Rabenu. What business does a Xros Pirate have escorting me to a hotel?" Kerrim inquired, a sudden breeze irked the environment, the lights of the festival seemed to drown out and vanish into the night sky as Kerrim set his question on the table. Rabenu blinked several times once Kerrim commented what he had. "When I work here... I'm no Xros Pirate, mate." Rabenu stretched his neck, showcasing some kind of stitching, "I've had my fair share of Xros experiences lately. If you work solely as Xros, you ain't got any life." He shrugged, "I work here without people knowing much and get paid." "My apologies, then allow me to compensate you." Kerrim extended a hand towards Rabenu, going in for a handshake. "If you see or hear word of Raven D. Sora, either tell my crew, or run to me, whichever is closer. I'll pay you handsomely." "Eh, nothing to worry," Rabenu shrugged yet again and extended his hand, shaking Kerrim's own with a smile on his face. "Sora?!" He frowned, crossing his arms, "So you also out for him... damn." Rabenu sighed. "I heard nothing of the guy recently, but I'll be on the watch!" Waving at him, Rabenu turned around again, leaving Kerrim in front of the grand hotel, wherein there were many to be met. Chatter could be heard at the insides, even just behind the frontal door. Kerrim entered the hotel, a soft sigh escaping his mouth. "This is all too stressful." Kerrim spoke to himself, not entering much further into the building. "I guess we should find a room or two, even if Sora doesn't show I get the opportunity to enjoy in the festivities." Walking up to the reception, Kerrim stood straight, moving through the halls his presence easily radiated something of elegance. He waited for the worker to address him, it was the more gracious thing to do in fact. "Walcome ta' the Mei Zhin Rhes," A man with long hair and mustache spoke from behind the reception counter. "We has a many rooms available! How much nights you want?" Though the man spoke funny, there seemed to be a serious intent coming from him. "HEUHUHUHUHUHUHU," Someone laughed from the waiting room in front of the reception, sitting on one of the sofas. "Another infamous pirate just like me here?" "Sir Guan Chao!" Spoke the Receptionist, eyeing the Pirate who possessed a towering bounty of 567,000,000. Guan Chao donned red robes with black details, his skin was white, and his hair a long brown. Notably, his ears were pointed. Chao laughed again. "HEUHUHU! Don't mind silly me," He waved at Kerrim and the receptionist. "7 nights should be enough." Kerrim spoke, looking over at Chao. He truly didn't enjoy all the attention he'd been getting, but what was there to be expected? He was a man worth quite the bit of money, and any pirate with a sizeable bounty would catch many eyes. "I may need a few more rooms as well, about 5." "Heuhuhuhu," Chao laughed yet again, why not? There was much more to appreciate other than the festival at hand surely. "Seems you with the crew, eh, Red Feather?" He gestured at Kerrim with a hand, then at himself. "I'm with mine too! Though, they are currently a bit busy. Don't you think people would find it strange for pirates to bring their whole squad to a festival like this?" Meanwhile, the receptionist checked the papers behind the desk, setting them straight as he wrote some things. "5 rooms, 7 nights, that's 70,000, sir." Before the exchange happened, Chao commented again, leaning forward from his couch. "There's only four days left for this festival." Kerrim looked over at Chao, trying to understand the pleasure the other Pirate had clearly been finding in the exchange. "No, I've simply brought my wife and our child. Her parents need a room, so do mine, her brother and sister are also attending and wanted separate rooms." Kerrim glanced, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out the required cash for the transaction. "Any spots you recommend I visit?" Kerrim spoke to both, the receptionist and Chao. "Damn dude, a married pirate? Balls..." Chao waved in front of his face, which had taken upon itself to show a frown. Leaning back against the couch, he decided to reply. "The Ferris Wheel can give you a view of the whole island, on top of being a nice ride." A shrug and a sigh, Chao looked at nowhere, using his hand to mess with his hair. "I wonder if they found anything...". The receptionist looked at Chao, then at Kerrim. "I must agree, Sir Feather, the ferris wheel is particularly nice." He moved the papers over the counter. "Anyway, the check-in is set, you can bring your family anytime and we'll welcome them." A smile came behind the receptionist's large beard. "We-" Loud booms coursed into the hotel, louder than the many fireworks even, though, the way it was, it was like it could be passed away as another firework. Chao frowned yet again, while the receptionist sweatted quite an amount, before anyone said any word, the doors burst open and revealed a frantic woman. "T-There's a fight going on, Sir Kung Lhi!" She panted while talking to the receptionist. "They're masking it with the commotion of the festivities!" Chao was the first to move. "Fight you say?!" Clicking his teeth, his hand flew to rest on the handle of his sword, he flew just as quickly towards the door. "Hm, a fight?" Kerrim spoke, mostly to himself. The chances were slim, but they were chances nonetheless. "Yes, well, I'll go on a little tour of the island with my family. Perhaps the commotion will settle before I get around, yes? Couldn't put my children in danger." Kerrim stepped through the door as his sentence ended, not quite looking for the receptionist to have an answer to the question he was imposing. In truth, Kerrim would be heading near the commotion as well, yet intended on doing his best to observe from a distance. Kerrim had went out just a few seconds after Chao had, yet, when he stepped out, he would find the other pirate no more. Fireworks sounded in the distance, illuminating much of the island. However, there was a specific spot in the distance that had a particularly increased number of those, the people of the island surely possessed some sum of money, to be capable of using so many for the festival. With Chao nowhere to be seen, it could only be assumed that he was going into that specific direction, having blitzed over any shops or people that might have stood in his path. Although many seemed to ignore such diverging event, Kerrim was a user of Haki, of course he should be capable of picking hints that many couldn't even if they tried. Amidst all those fireworks was a group of people, many ganging up on another person, they seemed to float through the air and fireworks. Seeing the location, or more accurately, feeling it’s commotion, Kerrim began to move towards it, walking slowly to the area. He didn’t have all the proof in the world, but he could assume that Chao was likely after Sora as well. If the individual being ganged on was indeed Sora, then he’d allow them to essentially tire out his target, even if it wasn’t the most effective. Kerrim’s body dissipated to nothingness, to shadow. Among the many festive lights and ear bursting fireworks, surely one little string of darkness would go undetected for a decent while. Kerrim observed the conflict, doing his best to map out each and every individual, starting with the person who seemed to be fighting solo. At that exact moment, Kerrim saw it or not, the person who was alone shifted gazes towards his direction, merely turning his head to the side. Many attacks that passed by didn't seem to connect in any way, instead, all the attackers were blown away on the same time that more fireworks went off in the background. Recoiling mid-air, they tried to attack the person again, but, were stopped even before they dashed off. "RED WIND!!!" A voice that Kerrim could only recognize as Guan Chao screamed, fireworks littered the atmosphere yet again, painting it red. Chao was barely visible at the top of a pointed building, his katana pointed toward none other than Raven D. Sora, the pirate currently worth 1,430,000,000 for the many atrocities and crimes comitted against the Government and World. Nothing short of a terror amongst both sides. Sora went from glancing at the shadows to Chao. "The Bye-Bye Pirates and their captain... Chao of the Breeze, is it not?" It seemed he held his focus upon the crew and Chao, tightening the hold of the wind around them. They even tried pushing their Haki outwards, but, it was to no avail. "I forgot how many pirates desire that filthy spot in the Government, but..." One of the paralyzed pirates coursed through the air, passing through a ring of pressure, they collided against another pirate, green became red. The wind surrounding them vanished, Chao gasped and widened his eyes, gripping his sword even tighter. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!" "Do you honestly believe you can best me alone...?" Sora uttered, waving both his arms gently, he floated through the air a small distance. "Why not bring-" He glanced and gestured for around him, "-reinforcements?" Watching the commotion, feeling the tension, Kerrim had known he was more than likely spotted. He wanted to wait until Chao and his crew had fallen, that was, until a better plan came into mind. Suddenly, a darkness ebbed through the sky, becoming one with and expanding across it's grand boarders. Had this been a symbol of some sort or simply a plan of action hadn't mattered much. An ominous gust brushed up against the body of every individual throughout Pinhata. First it's direction pulsed towards, then the gust revitalized itself and pulled towards it's source. Mauricio Kerrim. Kerrim gazed at Sora, paying Chao and his crew little mind. Their eyes met in what seemed to be a steely clash of eerie forces. One much more prominent than the other, but both refused to back down. "I hear of a certain myth that follows those of you who bare the D. in your name. That smile of yours I'm sure to see." Kerrim spoke, resting his right hand on Mistilteinn's grip which rested on his left hip. He'd done what he needed to gather his crew's attention, now was to secure another goal. "Chao, you seem to have come for Sora's head as well. Join me, and we'll bask in the glory together." Kerrim's gaze remained on Sora, knowing that if he was to look away even once, he'd surely suffer the consequences. Despite the striking conversation, Sora remained silent in mid-air as he observed both pirates, not paying the same caution to Kerrim that the latter gave to him, even directing his gaze solely at Chao. Yes, much like he waited on what Chao himself would respond. Sora closed his eyes and crossed his arms, the fireworks raged on, occasionally putting a new color over them, though, his figure was unbothered by the winds that came by. "Likewise!!" Chao spat upon Kerrim, "The very moment I saw you back at the hotel, I knew you were planning to hog the battle for yourself! Don't act like you didn't know this, who wouldn't take such chance?!" His katana out, he gestured in random directions, his eyes not leaving Sora and the hostages that were his crew. Just how much Kerrim had dared was beyond Chao, he had read much of the super rookie's misadventures throughout the newspapers, Chao knew that he was a man of trickery and deceit. For Kerrim to offer an alliance? Something was definitely up, and Chao was going to have to check by himself, given the situation they were in. Though, it looked as if Sora allowed for any conversation to be upheld during that moment in time. But, it would be the two of them together, right? "Very well," Chao clasped his other hand over the handle of his blade, allowing for some kind of red aura to overtake its blade. Normally, such kind of pressure was big enough to materialize itself as an increase in brightness from Chao's blade, but, with a step way beyond Haki coating, he managed to concentrate this might. Even sparks came from within the blade, surrounding it in a flicker of a moment, the very scenery around Chao started to shudder. Inside himself, his heart beat rather rapidly, accompanying the leaks of Haki upon his blade. All this strength, this focus, it was almost a minimum that Chao had to exert in order to get Sora's full attention upon him, seemingly. "I won't let you get ahead of me, Red Feather!" Bending both his knees, tensing his muscles, strengthening the grip over his blade, Chao took to flying towards Sora, breaching a myriad of air barriers that stood on his way. With the sword drawn back, horizontally behind Chao's back, he prepared to cut across space itself and whatever manners of defense Sora brought up to intercept him. Not even gravity seemed to stop him, given the ease he traveled through the night air and towards Sora. Chao moved his arms in that same horizontal fashion, mid-way towards reaching Sora as the blade sliced across the atmosphere. A culmination of both his desires, philosophy, and determination to reach where he had, to acquire such an important spot, to finally enact the many plans he created across the span of months. "URYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SHENGLI!!" That was it, a blow carrying such might that- "Pyuu." Chao's face bloated upon impact, the aura around his blade and body vanished faster than a whisper amongst a crowd, during that moment, even the fireworks and festivities ceased to exist. Something that left Sora's lips simply reached Chao with such intensity that brief crackles were to be heard seconds after it happened, manifesting as a quick light, Chao instantly disappeared from sight. There was no view, no matter the angle, to Chao's trajectory as he ripped downwards through the air and pierced through the very ground, erecting a pillar of dust during a shot second, the members of his crew saw nothing that transpired, even considering how some of them were highly trained fighters. Indeed, for Sora to react there had been no need for any muscle movement or any word other than his signature one. He hadn't lifted his fingers any inch either. "Hmph," Sora breathed out, finally opening his eyes, though, his form continued unbothered by the wind. However, that very hpmh sent a brief ripple across the space around him, pushing whatever fireworks were in the sky a fair distance, along with the imprisoned members of Chao's crew and, likely, Kerrim himself. With yet another ally secured, although not too sure where Rabenu had gone off to, Kerrim had found himself feeling more and more confident about his chances of defeating Sora. Not that he really let these worries show before, but there is always that feeling in the back of one's mind when taking on a difficult obstacle. But Kerrim had cut down many before, and he was more than willing to add Sora to that count. Yet, the moment of confidence in his newfound ally was short-lived, with Sora easily tossing Chao aside and sending him soaring into the Earth with ease. Kerrim had known ahead of time he wasn't up against some low-end Pirate, but what difference did it make? Kerrim was intent on defeating Sora here and now. While Chao and many others were going to be tossed aside by the winds that Sora had unleashed without even moving, they passed through Kerrim without even harming his figure in the slightest. As a Logia, anything that lacked Haki or wasn't his elemental weakness posed little to no threat to his well-being. Unphased by the vicious torrents of wind that whipped and raged about the environment, Kerrim kept a sharp gaze on Sora. "You seem to not be weary of me..." Kerrim spoke, pulling Mistilteinn from it's sheathe. Red Feather pressed his feet firmly against the ground, squatting as he prepared himself for an attack. Brute strength was one thing, Kerrim was fine with admitting that he lacked that. But speed was his forte. As long as he could gather the momentum, the Pirate could do just about anything. He pushed off against the ground with ease, his body vanished from it's previous location, a darkness left radiating where he had last stood. In the blink of an eye, in what could've been a second, or something much less than that, Kerrim appeared directly above Red Wind Sora. What a coincidence, Red Wind and Red Feather, almost as if Kerrim was destined to take Sora's position amongst the Shichibukai. Although the skies had been Sora's territory, he hadn't been the only one who could cause wind to waver in his presence. Extending a single hand forward, his left, Kerrim released a short range, yet powerful blast of shadows down upon Sora's figure. The attack wasn't simply a blast, but instead it would reveal itself as a funnel constructed of shadows that spiraled with intent to destroy. "ASTAROTH LAMENT!" Kerrim shouted, unleashing the attack with the boundless power that all pure Logia could produce, and that those filthy ACE users will never amount to. The shadows that swirled and raged could not only push back any who were caught in it's body, but it could also tear even steel asunder, as was it's design. Although Kerrim only aimed for the shadows to swirl about to strike Sora, he couldn't prevent the wind in the immediate vicinity of the attack from also dancing about. Kerrim secured such close range as to not allow Sora too much time to back away, and then to push him back with an attack also meant to deal bodily harm. Of course, unlike Sora who seemed to take things slow, Kerrim didn't intend to give his opponent any time to power-up. And put enough Haki into his attack that it would allow it to interact with Sora. There were two pluses to this attack. Not only would it likely tear Sora's body asunder on impact, leading to blood loss early on, but the fact that Astaroth Lament pulled in winds in the nearby vicinity, if Sora didn't move with enough speed, even upon entering an intangible state, he'd be dragged in into it's path of destruction. Short range, powerful, and maybe even unavoidable, Kerrim had intended on putting Sora on the spot instantly and refusing to let him on the offensive. For if Sora were to gain the opportunity to attack even once, Kerrim knew it would place him on the spot in seconds. Kerrim may have taken the offensive advantage, but the Red Feather was careless. Sora did not hold back against Chao. The attack established more than his extreme power, but it demonstrated just how much of the wind he could control at a given time. Against a Pirate of Chao’s caliber, only a small fraction of the air being repurposed wouldn’t be enough to kill him in a single strike. Rather, Sora had already connected himself with all the air in his immediate vicinity. Anything that attempted to pull the air away from him was merely attempting to tug at his influence. Without even a warning, the wind that blanketed the shadows had been painted a pitch black, connecting to the right-hand side of Sora’s body, as his eyes opened wide. There was a brief moment of struggle as the wind began to spiral further inwards, concentrating its strength into smaller spheres. The sheer movement of the winds as the spheres were created momentarily delayed the advance of Kerrim’s technique, as Sora softly spoke. "Furyuken: Sensu." The spheres of wind, which had been created at ten separate points, pierced through the darkness that attempted to consume Sora, and began to rip it apart from the inside. With the form of the shadows loosening, Sora had the opening to leap backwards and regain his footing on an air platform of his creation. "You are a Logia user..." Sora spoke with a bit of reservation. If anything, a flash of anger was expressed in his eyes before it faded away into his melancholic stare. "Your attack...are you trying to prove how much power you hold over me?" Sora questioned, as the winds began to rage and cyclonic gusts intended to smother every trace of civilization that dared to interrupt this fight. "Before eliminating you...I suppose I have to give at least a small demonstration...of just what kind of threat you're up against." Stretching out his left hand, Kerrim would instantly a black pigment dye itself across the wind that was surrounding him. With a twirl of Sora's fingers, the blackened winds surrounded Kerrim in a vortex that gradually compressed itself, inching towards Kerrim's body and intending to crush him into nothing more than bloody capillaries. As the vortex formed around Kerrim, the man allowed a brief smirk to fall upon his face. It was not to look down upon of Sora, but rather, to acknowledge how Sora seemed to look down upon him. Even after one major achievement after another, others always found a way to judge and attempt to berate Red Feather's status. It had been quite some time since he found himself in yet another position where he had needed to cut loose. And so, he invited this opportunity with open arms. Darkness ebbed from Kerrim's person, pushing against the vortex that attempted to constrict Kerrim. As a true Logia, Kerrim could effortlessly generate enough shadow from his person alone to shatter the vortex, but where was the fun in that? When it came to his fruit, the man boasted limitless brute power. When it came to his brain, his intellect was largely unrivaled. It took a unique skill set to push Kerrim to a corner, and a faux Logia, no matter the users skill, would be enough to do so on it's lonesome. The area seemed to grow darker, most notably from the ground itself. But so too did the air. Although Sora had loosened Kerrim's prior attack, the man would still make do. Recycling those same shadows, they would encase the vortex from the outside. Squeezing onto the barrier of wind from both sides, pressuring it until it just couldn't handle the pressure any longer. Shattering between the combined weights. But even then, the two layers of shadow merged and continue to expand. Soon enough, the mass of shadow was almost like a black sun, dwarfing all of Pinhata. The only area safe of the looming shadow that had been cast upon the island were the docks, more specifically, the dock in which the Laughing Turtle had been docked. As the mass grew, it levitated higher into the sky, Kerrim's body phasing through it's body as it left it's source. At it's apex, the mass shot a beam that soared towards Sora with incredible speed, intent on causing detrimental damage to whatever part of the body it could hit. However, not all of the mass had been used in that one attack. In fact, only a small fraction was dedicated to that piercing shot. "Shadows do not blanket the wind." Sora spoke factually, as his eyes rose, matching his gaze with the black sun that Kerrim had created in the sky. He outstretched his free arm and pointed it towards the gigantic construct. Sora clenched his open palm and, without any warning, an immense gust was formed from within the black orb. The strength of these gusts clashed against the edge of the black sun which sought to keep the wind within. Sora wouldn't allow it. As Kerrim began to form the beam that sought to eviscerate Sora from existence, he pulled his arm back, while still clenched in a fist. The force of that motion enabled the wind he was pulling to become even stronger, rupturing the black orb from the interior and gathering enough wind before Sora to create a spiral shield. The beam clashed with the wind. It appeared to successfully break through, but that was a deception. As one layer broke through, the wind gathered into the next layer and strengthened it. Its rotations became faster and faster, to the point where the beam began to dissipate. As the beam weakened, there was a single chance that Sora could take. Rather than continuing to defend, Sora brought his index finger and thumb together, as if he were pinching the air. The result of that action was the barrier being focused into a spiral spear-like shape, which he proceeded to shoot forward with such force that the ground below was left with a cavity in the shape of a drill. He sought to completely break through the beam sent towards him and target Kerrim's new body -- the black sun. To make matters worse for his opponent, the wind he shot forward was now dyed black, and no longer able to be shoved away with regular methods. Category:Role-Plays Category:DamonDraco Category:GranCrux Category:Black Dwarf Star